Housetraining a puppy is one of the biggest challenges faced by all dog owners irrespective of breeds. If you think housetraining your puppy simply involves a steady supply of old newspapers, you're WRONG! It requires a lot more... To begin with, you'll need heavy doses of patience, persistence and practice. Housetraining a puppy is a continuous process that continues till it is 6 months old. Since they are growing and developing rapidly at this time, puppies eat more, burns more calories and needs to eliminate more frequently than an adult dog.
There are certain specific housetraining tips that you should follow when you're at home and some others that you need to consider when you're not at home.
Housetraining - When You're Not Home:
Choose a small room that can be easily "puppy-proofed". Cover the entire floor of the chosen room with paper. Confine your puppy in the room along with its toys, food and water bowls and bed. Make sure that your puppy finds no way to escape out of the room. Be prepared to clean up a lot of mess initially. Lay down fresh sheets on return everyday. Though initially, your puppy will soil the entire floor, gradually it will eliminate in only one particular place.
When your puppy learns to eliminate in its demarcated place, start removing the papers from the other areas. Remove the papers that are laid far away from your pup's chosen spot and close in gradually. Eventually you will need to cover your puppy's chosen spot only.
Be careful not to reduce the area too soon or your pup might miss its spot and soil your floor. Once your puppy has learnt to eliminate only on the papers you've left, then try to move the sheets, an inch a day, slowly and gradually to a location of your choice. Don't be discouraged if your puppy suddenly acts crazy and messes up your floor!
Return to papering the entire floor again and improve gradually till your puppy is successfully paper trained. Never scold or punish your puppy for mistakes and accidents. Remember the 3 Ps - practice, perseverance and patience.
Housetraining - When You're At Home:
When you are home, rules for housetraining are same as mentioned above. You must keep in mind that you must spend more and more time with it in order to housetrain it faster.
Take your puppy out to eliminate immediately after a nap, after a play session, and after meals and drinks. The rule of the thumb is that your pup needs to go once in every 45 minutes. Take your pup to eliminate to one particular area every time. When your puppy does eliminate in the chosen area, praise him and reward him immediately. Don't punish your puppy for housetraining accidents - this will eventually delay the housetraining process. Don't allow your puppy to roam around the house unless you're absolutely certain that your puppy has learnt to control its bowels and bladder. When you actually want to allow your puppy to roam around, start by giving it access to one room at a time. With time, when your puppy has complete control over itself, you can allow it to go wherever it wants. Don't rush through housetraining - or for any training for that matter. By following the procedures I've just mentioned, you can minimize incidents of house soiling to a considerable extent. By learning to detect signs that indicate that your puppy needs to eliminate, like sniffing around or circling, you can also prevent a number of accidents.
But yes, there will be a few more accidents than you expect - learn to accept them as a part of raising a pet.
Nancy Richards has been a dog lover for the past 12 years. She has owned and handled dogs of different ages and have helped many fellow owners in training their dog. DogPottyTrain.com one of her sites has the aim to promote public interest in Dogs and convey by all possible means varied house training techniques for adult dogs and puppies.
Anybody is free to use the article in their website as long as an acknowledgement is given Nancy Richards' and a link to the site www.dogpottytrain.com
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